The imagination of an image-maker

MANILA

You immediately get a sense of MJ Suayan’s surety and creative breadth the instant you view his images. That’s the way it is when you witness a maestro in his element. In MJ’s latest Vogue Italia shoot, he uses old school practical effects to achieve painting-like images. When he reveals the photos on his camera, viewers could hardly believe they weren’t post-processed. Only a talented artist-photographer with years of experience and a passionate knowledge of form and technique can achieve such a feat effortlessly, within moments.

As an inquisitive child, born in 1978 to a creative family in Manila, MJ had the good fortune of growing up in an atmosphere of encouragement and machinery, where his curiosity was fed daily.

“We used to live beside a small machine shop, which, to a curious child such as myself back then, was a perfect makeshift laboratory,” he reminisced. “That was my first exposure to paints and chemicals. I can still remember how chemicals reacted with each other forming into another compound. I was so amazed by the changes I saw—the textures and colors are still so vivid in my mind.” In this creativity-nurturing environment, MJ and his siblings became adept at their chosen artistic disciplines. One of his brothers, Mico Suayan, is an internationally-acclaimed cover artist for DC and Marvel comics.

While a true creative at heart, MJ pursued physical

The imagination of an image- therapy for his college demaker gree. Armed with determination and an innate sense of style and design, MJ started out as a largely self-taught street photographer. He was later mentored by some of the country’s top lensmen and, led by his passion for creative endeavours, MJ made a name in the industry by landing multiple cover shoots and creative projects for publications such as Tatler Philippines, Lifestyle Asia, Mega, Manila Bulletin Style Weekend, Metro Weddings, and Garage Magazine. While his flair for fashion granted MJ suc Artist MJ Suayan blurs the cess in Manila, his evocative, emotion-packed boundaries between photography work caught the eye of Vogue Italia’s Deputy Edand art with his conceptual and itor, Sara Maino. She has said, “The first time I saw evocative body of work. MJ’s works, ‘twas emo tional! He is a pure tal ent and his artistic vision goes beyond any bound-

Text by Donna Patricia Manio Photos courtesy of MJ Suayan aries.” Maino, credited as Guest editor Michellan Sarile-Alagao one of the pillars of the ongoing renaissance of Vogue Italia, launched the trajectory of many artists through Vogue Talents—a platform for creative minds from all over the globe. MJ joins this roster of creatives, a model for Filipino creatives on the global scene. Yet his journey, from the edgy street photography of Manila to the international world of high fashion, began from a place of deep personal tragedy, and you can sense a certain melancholy behind the power of some images. “The passing of my two beloved daughters, Helaena and Fiona, created this vast darkness in me. It was so huge that it almost consumed me. It has

been 12 years and the truth is, I haven’t really grieved yet. I haven’t talked about how I felt as I am apprehensive to open the floodgates of emotions and cope with the pain. That explains my aesthetic and style, I guess. It is through my art that I share my thoughts. It is indeed a great help for me—therapeutic in a way.” Perhaps this is what adds such depth to MJ’s work: raw emotion, imagination, and an awareness that both love and pain, must be shared.

MJ is already a respected and established artist, yet he continues to learn new things, and aims to take his craft further. “I am very critical of myself as an artist. I wasn’t confident about my process and was never sure if I was doing it the right way. Partly, I think it was because of my lack of traditional or formal art education. It wasn’t until I discovered the works of two great photographers—Paolo Roversi and Nick Knight, with Roversi’s dreamy and ethereal style, and Knight’s use of digital and advanced processes in presenting his photography—that I got really inspired to continue creating art.” While mastering the various techniques of a craft is one thing, keeping a sense of wonder and an openness to newness is another, and this is also what keeps MJ’s ideas fresh and future-forward.

“I can’t control how a chemical would react to photo inks or how a flame would burn my images and create another interesting image. What attracts me to the process is that it surprises me most of the time, with the images turning out better than I could ever expect.”

For the artist, this process is what he calls “cosmic.” As a creator, MJ also doesn’t believe in being confined to just one medium. He merges imagination and process through experimentation in photography and lighting, as well as manual and digital image manipulation. For MJ, there is no end to finding new processes to help bring to visual life the dreams, concepts and feelings within his mind-soul.

In MJ’s recent Vogue Italia shoot, “Indigenous Futurism,” the artist has pushed himself to produce ethereal works of art. Despite the many restrictions caused by the pandemic, MJ was a true pro during the shoot, his movements almost clockwork-like in their measure and flow.

As someone who has worked with countless creatives, he realized that he can also help other talented individuals in our collective quest to bring Philippine arts and culture more awareness worldwide. “It has been my goal to bring local designers and creatives to a global spotlight thru my collaboration with international platforms-magazines. I strongly believe in the talent of the Filipino artist. If given the platform, Pinoys can be on par with other foreign artists—because we are.” Creative projects have continued to come his way despite the pandemic and MJ considers himself blessed for this. Once the world has resumed a safer pace and travel restrictions lift even more, he plans to collaborate with other international artists and mount exhibits in Europe and the United States. Exploring and discovering new ways of making art is something that MJ will continue doing, as his works continue to have their distinct, dream-like quality that make audiences pay attention and, above all, feel. “Notice my works are somehow dream-like. It is because I don’t want to take away dreaming from my viewers. I want young creatives/artists to continue to dream or to imagine. Once you stop dreaming it would be the end for an artist.”